Skulduggery Pleasant
#264.35 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 18 books Status Complete 2007–2026 Reading commitment High Derek Landy Last reviewed 2026-08-25
Overview
A skeleton detective-wizard and his teenage apprentice investigate supernatural threats to Ireland and the wider magical world across eighteen novels blending horror-comedy, noir patter and escalating cosmic stakes. The series won a public vote naming it Ireland’s book of the decade.
Urban fantasy, Comic fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (18 works) counts toward ranking
The Skulduggery Pleasant main sequence Derek Landy
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Skulduggery Pleasant | 2007 | 1 | core | 4.18 (74,417 ratings) |
 | Playing with Fire | 2008 | 2 | core | 4.29 (35,806 ratings) |
 | The Faceless Ones | 2009 | 3 | core | 4.40 (31,935 ratings) |
 | Dark Days | 2010 | 4 | core | 4.41 (26,243 ratings) |
 | Mortal Coil | 2010 | 5 | core | 4.45 (24,102 ratings) |
 | Death Bringer | 2011 | 6 | core | 4.47 (21,368 ratings) |
 | Kingdom of the Wicked | 2012 | 7 | core | 4.46 (18,761 ratings) |
 | Last Stand of Dead Men | 2013 | 8 | core | 4.56 (16,083 ratings) |
 | The Dying of the Light | 2014 | 9 | core | 4.58 (13,623 ratings) |
 | Resurrection | 2017 | 10 | core | 4.27 (8,350 ratings) |
 | Midnight | 2018 | 11 | core | 4.20 (6,748 ratings) |
 | Bedlam | 2019 | 12 | core | 4.31 (5,679 ratings) |
 | Seasons of War | 2020 | 13 | core | 4.42 (5,103 ratings) |
 | Dead or Alive | 2021 | 14 | core | 4.36 (4,177 ratings) |
 | Until the End | 2022 | 15 | core | 4.45 (3,558 ratings) |
 | A Mind Full of Murder | 2024 | 16 | core | 4.32 (1,952 ratings) |
 | A Heart Full of Hatred | 2025 | 17 | core | 4.19 (1,173 ratings) |
 | A Soul Full of Shadows | 2026 | 18 | core | 4.04 (623 ratings) |
The main numbered sequence concluded with A Soul Full of Shadows (2026); several companion novellas and short-story collections in the same setting exist but are not catalogued in this admission.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Skulduggery Pleasant? Skulduggery Pleasant's Core Canon is 18 books.
- What is the reading order for Skulduggery Pleasant? Publication order, starting with Skulduggery Pleasant. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Skulduggery Pleasant finished? Complete (2007–2026).
- How much reading does Skulduggery Pleasant take? High reading commitment (estimated from 18 Core Canon books · ~4,032 pages).
- How is Skulduggery Pleasant ranked? #26 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 299,701 reader ratings across 18 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #26?
Ranked #26 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.35 across 18 core books.
- Backed by 300k reader ratings.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 4.04 to 4.58.
- Less than 0.01 behind #25, Shadow of the Leviathan (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 18 books · Complete · 300k ratings · Ranks #26 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (18 Core Canon books)
- Skulduggery Pleasant (2007)
- Playing with Fire (2008)
- The Faceless Ones (2009)
- Dark Days (2010)
- Mortal Coil (2010)
- Death Bringer (2011)
- Kingdom of the Wicked (2012)
- Last Stand of Dead Men (2013)
- The Dying of the Light (2014)
- Resurrection (2017)
- Midnight (2018)
- Bedlam (2019)
- Seasons of War (2020)
- Dead or Alive (2021)
- Until the End (2022)
- A Mind Full of Murder (2024)
- A Heart Full of Hatred (2025)
- A Soul Full of Shadows (2026)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- Bord Gais Energy Irish Book of the Decade (Overall), 2010: won: Skulduggery Pleasant; A public reader vote covering the decade's Irish-published books; Skulduggery Pleasant (2007) won.
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Suggestions computed from what Skulduggery Pleasant and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Amari and the Night Brothers Urban fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.32
- Hamster Princess Fairy-tale retelling / Comic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.23
- Howl's Moving Castle Fairy-tale retelling / Comic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.21
- Dragonbreath Comic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.17
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.35 across 299,701 ratings on 18 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Skulduggery Pleasant accepted 2026-08-25
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-26
Rule: Core Canon covers all eighteen novels of the main numbered sequence. Companion novellas and short-story collections in the same setting are not catalogued in this admission.